In our first breakout week, Louise is in discussion with artist Jacqui Fehl . Influenced by music, lyrics, feelings, stories, other artists, and the materials themselves, Jacqui’s art is as varied and unpredictable as her ever changing hair – sometimes light, humorous and colourful , while at other times serious with a touch of dark.

“If I had to describe my work, I would say that it is a blend of grunge, whimsy and outsider.”

Jacqui is working on the largest commission she’s ever done, for the pediatric wing of a large hospital. She’s excited and also a little nervous, but she has a clear vision of what she wants to create.

As we dive deeply into issues around creative process, scaling up your work and developing your personal voice this quote came in to play:

“It quite frequently happens that you’re just treading water for quite a long time. Nothing really dramatic seems to be happening. … And then suddenly everything seems to lock together in a different way. It’s like a crystallization point where you can’t detect any single element having changed. There’s a proverb that says that the fruit takes a long time to ripen, but it falls suddenly … And that seems to be the process.”

Brian Eno

‘She Couldn’t Remember The Last Time She Cleared Out Her Purse’ by Jacqui Fehl

Jacqui gives her response to “How do you define success as an artist?” and shares how her ability to roll with the punches has grown, overcoming some stressful events to pull off a successful show and earn a large commission.

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